A Vampire's Life Book 1

Chapter 11

"How come you get to wear pants?"

She looks down at her pants and frowns.

"What do you mean?"

"Penny said that I can't wear pants around royalty and I'm stuck wearing skirts in this freezing weather."

She shrugs as she takes a sip of her coffee.

"I don't think there are any official rules. I think that comes from old school dress etiquette."

"Well it's bloody freezing." I mutter.

"So put some pants on or get some tights."

"Yeah, I suppose that could work."

She grins at me, like it should have been clear to me. What happened to super smart Stephanie? Has she spent too long on her back to see the obvious?

"So, how's Alex?"

I shrug, looking down into my coffee.

"Moody, distracted then does a complete turnaround and becomes chatty and loving."

"He has a lot on his mind."

I nod. "Pain in the arse personal assistant doesn't help either."

She chuckles.

"Somehow I think you being a pain in the arse is the least of his problems."

Miranda giggles as she makes her way through every rack in the lingerie shop. I can hear the shop assistant clucking her tongue and muttering under her breath at Miranda. Jeez woman, if only you knew who she is. She pulls out a mass of little straps and bits of sheer material, all in a deep jade colour.

"Go try this on."

I think I must turn several shades of red as she grabs my hand and drags me into the change room.

"Hurry up."

She draws the curtain closed and I wrestle with the complicated piece of lingerie. Once I have managed to figure it out and put it on I hear a wolf whistle.

"Jeez girl, even I want to have sex with you."

"Miranda!" I gasp.

She gives me a wicked grin and pulls the curtain shut again.

After several hours of shopping and a lunch that was a gastronomic delight Miranda suggests we return to her apartment to finish the afternoon off with some cocktails. Their apartment is rather large; the lounge room overlooks the city but we are so high up that I can see the ocean. I hear the glasses clink onto the marble bench top as Miranda busies herself making the cocktails. Wandering into the kitchen she passes a glass to me.

"I want to try something, follow me."

I follow her down the hall to a smaller room, it is dark, the paint in this room is a deep, rich purple. She flicks on the light and gestures for me to sit at a tiny table. The table is a dark wood frame with a green felt insert. I sit down as she rummages through a set of draws on the wall beside the door. Sipping the drink, I nearly choke at how intense it is. Miranda laughs, closing the draw.

"It's a good one isn't it?"

"Oh yeah."

Miranda sits at the table opposite me, a soft leather pouch is in her hand, her drink in the other. She downs the drink in one large gulp and puts the glass on the table. Wow.

"Ok, drink up, then you can shuffle the cards."

She waits for me, watching me drink.

"Up end it Steph, you'll be fine."